2019 Convention

AVB CEO Jim Ristow kicked off Sunday’s General Session at the 2019 BrandSource Convention with an impassioned plea to members to keep their online merchandising as up to date as their showrooms’ – and introduced a new tool, LINQ4U, to help them do so.

The TV category has taken its lumps in recent years, but the advent of ultra-large screens, advanced display technologies, and a new turnkey program for BrandSource members means the time is ripe to jump in.

The accent was on learning at BrandSource’s 2019 Convention & Expo, where members boned up on everything from sales training and leather repair to the impact of 5G and pin-posting on Pinterest.

One of the highlights of BrandSource’s annual Convention is its Dealer of the Year Awards, when members from every region in the country are honored for their commitment to excellence in the retail industry and to their fellow BrandSource members.

A fiftieth anniversary is always a major milestone, but for an independent dealer group, reaching the half-century mark assumes even greater significance in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.

If, as the late Whitney Houston sang in “Greatest Love of All,” we believe the children are our future, then BrandSource is in good hands, based on the group’s Young Professionals organization.

If inventory is the lifeblood of independent dealers, then kicking the tires of new products on the Expo floor can be considered the main event at a BrandSource Convention.

One of the most anticipated moments of any BrandSource Convention is the start of the Stampede, when limited-quantity, show-special deals are unveiled before the membership and snapped up on a first-come, first-served basis.

BrandSource Convention announcements ran the gamut from digital, product and educational initiatives to the more personal – recognizing members for their dedication to the group, their businesses and the industry.

AVB CMO John White briefing members on the coming 5G wave.

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and the Expo component of BrandSource’s 2019 Convention in Dallas was no exception.